The value of agricultural production in Algeria amounted to more than 3491 billion DA in 2021, or nearly 25.6 billion dollars, said Tuesday in Algiers the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mohamed Abdelhafid Henni.
The Minister was speaking during a hearing session of the Agriculture and Fisheries Commission of the National People’s Assembly (APN), chaired by Lahcene Laabid, President of the Commission, in the presence of the Minister of Relations with Parliament, Basma Azouar, devoted to reviewing the status of the implementation of the sector program, its achievements and prospects as well as the main measures taken to guarantee food security.
Mr. Henni indicated, in this sense, that these results had been achieved despite the decline recorded in several sectors, including those of cereals and legumes, which have recorded a drop in production since 2018 due to the low level of rainfall, particularly in the center and the west of the country.
To cope with this climatic situation, a complementary irrigation program has been carried out for cereal growing, the area irrigated in 2021 having risen to 114,052 hectares, the minister said.
For vegetables, overall production fell by 3.4% during the 2020/2021 season, including potatoes, whose production fell by 6.4%.
The production of industrial tomatoes, however, increased by 27% during the 2020/2021 season compared to 2019/2020, as well as dates by 3.9% during the same period, notes Mr. Henni.
The production of red meats increased by 5%, while that of white meats fell by 27% due to the increase in the value of poultry farming inputs on the world market and the spread of certain diseases affecting this sector, observed the minister who also noted stability in the production of fresh milk.
With regard to agricultural land, the balance sheet presented by the Minister mentions the recovery of 750,000 hectares under the land development program, as well as 150,000 hectares listed under the operation of the census of farms without titles in order to regularize their legal situation.
After listening to the Minister’s detailed presentation, the members of the Commission emphasized the importance of cleaning up agricultural land and supporting farmers in order to increase production and thus guarantee food security.
